Teachers rally as community expresses outrage and support at Talawanda Board meeting

More than 60 people turned out for a tense Talawanda Board of Education meeting Nov. 21 after two incidents of teachers being placed on administrative leave led to backlash against the district online.

Almost 20 members of the public spoke during the meeting, including 10 teachers. Several additional people had signed up to comment but opted not to for timing concerns. Board President Rebecca Howard allowed public comment to extend beyond the standard half-hour limit due to the number of people at the meeting.

Also during the meeting, Treasurer Shaunna Tafelski presented an updated five-year plan and Mike Malone, director of Human Resources, proposed dozens of policy and bylaw changes. The Board will vote on the changes in December.

Why tensions are high

Talawanda High School teacher Danielle Mann was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 8 after posting a political TikTok asking Democratic men to identify themselves so women knew who the "safe men" were. Mann's video was reposted on X, formerly Twitter, by Libs of TikTok, a popular rightwing account which focuses anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and education. The video ultimately received more than 4 million views on the platform.

In a statement Nov. 20, the district said its investigation was over and had "resulted in the teacher being disciplined." The district "will not comment further on the actions taken in this matter," according to the statement.

Prior to the Nov. 21 board meeting, Mann told the Oxford Free Press she would not answer questions at this time.

On Nov. 18, a Talawanda Middle School teacher was also placed on leave following juvenile citations for two students caught with marijuana. A police report states that the teacher a fanny pack "was given to [the student] by a teacher" because "the odor was so strong." The incident occurred on Nov. 13.

Both incidents followed months of unrest at board meetings, including the resignation of former board member David Bothast in September following what he called personal attacks. Members of the public sparred with board members at past meetings for alleged misconduct, as well as for administrative raises which passed in separate votes in July and September.

Public comment begins with string of teachers

The first 10 speakers during public comment were all current educators within Talawanda, and each highlighted positive experiences within their schools. None of the teachers spoke directly about either teacher situation or past board dysfunction.

The order of public comment is determined by a sign-up sheet available before the meeting. Individual speakers are limited to three minutes, and the teachers would have filled the entire time available if Howard hadn't extended the overall half-hour limit.

Emily Lykins, a mother of two Talawanda graduates and a current senior, has taught at Marshall Elementary for more than two decades. She called the school a "place where kindness and collaboration shine" and highlighted several initiatives including a Veterans Day concert.

Ted Caudill, a high school social studies teacher and co-president of the Talawanda Educators Association, has worked at Talawanda High School since 1999. he said the high school has improved significantly in the past 25 years, including its graduation rate and state ratings.

"We have an excellent school district," Caudill said. "I've seen it, I've lived it, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Multiple members of the public who spoke after the teachers thanked the teachers who spoke but said the move felt calculated.

"I question if it's coincidental that all [teachers] went almost exactly three minutes, and I believe we had exactly 10 sign up," said Anne Dittman, a local who has regularly attended board meetings for more than a decade. "That's the 30 minutes which are normally allotted to speakers. So I have a suggestion to the board — let's have a teacher Thanksgiving presentation next year so we can have more time."

Parents and others share outrage over handling of social media post, support for teachers

Nearly a dozen members of Citizens for Our Children, a conservative parents group, attended the meeting in matching shirts to protest the district's handling of the situation. The group was created by Art Sauerwein, who served as campaign chairman for Republican Diane Mullins in her successful bid to represent the 47th District in Ohio's State House.

Sauerwein said Mann's video made him fear for the safety of students due to what he called her "desperate, erratic mental state." He created Citizens for Our Children in response to the video and said the group has already gained more than 400 members on Facebook. Many members, he said, thanked him for creating it.

"They're also terrified of retaliation from you and teachers against their children if they make themselves known," Sauerwein said. "This is unacceptable. This is politics at your table."

Mike Sekach, a Talawanda alumnus and father of two children, one of whom attends a private high school in Butler County, said he felt that teacher accountability "went out the window" after he received an email saying Mann was disciplined on Nov. 20.

In a Nov. 6 video filmed in a car, Mann told women of "childbearing age" to get wellness checks in the 90 days following the election. She encouraged those who are able to get permanent birth control or an IUD to do so and told people not to "go to any men for any services at all."

Sekach said he was disturbed by the video regarding birth control. Dozens of parents reached out to him after he shared it on social media, Sekach said, saying they were afraid of retaliation. He added that he had received "hateful letters" to his home including his family members' names.

"I'm extremely upset of the second video of her speaking out of her term to young women of child-bearing age," Sekach said. "That could be a 10-year-old girl. It's disgusting, and this is what we have in our classroom today."

Tom Romano, a retired Miami University professor, said Mann appeared distraught in the video and had a constitutional right to express her "deep concern for the safety of girls and women." Romano said Mann embodied important qualities for educators including subject knowledge, humanity, respect and attention to the welfare of students.

"She's taught at Talawanda High School for decades now," Romano said. "Were my adolescent granddaughters residents of our district, I would welcome that they have Ms. Mann for their English teacher. I'm glad to learn she will be returning to her classroom to teach students to read and write and think."

Genevieve O'Malley-Knight, a Talawanda parent and graduate, read a prepared statement from a friend who wrote that public education is meant to prepare students to be good community members and citizens. Education should not prioritize one set of beliefs over another, O'Malley-Knight's friend wrote, and parents bullying and threatening each other online are setting poor examples for their children.

Multiple speakers highlighted positive developments in the district, as well. One parent praised the school's response to his daughter's medical emergency, and a former school board member said the district's state report card shows that it is headed in the right direction.

No board members or administrators responded directly to the points raised during public comment. A large number of attendees left as soon as the public comment session ended, roughly 20 minutes before the board adjourned.

The Board of Education is scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 for the last meeting of the year. The meeting will be held in the Talawanda High School Performing Arts Center and streamed on the district's YouTube channel.